COM 301: SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA

This course will be run primarily as a writing workshop, wherein students will learn about the genres of scientific and technical writing, and practice composing select examples of documents in these fields. While students will spend significant time working on improving stylistics (grammar, syntax, word choice, etc.), more fundamentally, they will learn about the ideological, rhetorical, and organizational principles that underlie scientific and technical methods (versus, for example, their counterparts in the humanities), and which guide writing in these professions. Given that work in the sciences is frequently a team effort, we will examine best practices for writing collaboratively. Additionally, students will consider strategies to convey technical concepts to non-specialist audiences, and to appreciate their obligations as prospective practitioners of these professions to laypersons who may be affected by their work.